Anyone
who has read Nintendo Power since its beginning has,
obviously, at least glanced at the little comic strips in a
couple of pages of the magazine called "Howard &
Nester", which chronicled the adventures of bowtie-wearing
Howard Philips (who was an actual employee of Nintendo and president of the Nintendo Fun Club at the
time) and a stubborn redheaded teen named Nester. Together,
the two ventured into the worlds of various NES games, gave
us a couple of thinly-veiled legitimate tips, and always
provided a little bit of humor for us all.

In
Volume 25 of Nintendo Power, Howard left the magazine to
pursue other goals (JVC?! I'll bet that worked out well), and
left Nester to star in a series of comics of his own. But a
few years after, all traces of Nester (and Howard) vanished,
and left the magazine to wilt away.

All
21 installments of Howard & Nester are here, along with a
few bonus comics thrown in for good measure.

Issue

Summary

July / August 1988

The first issue of Nintendo
Power introduces our two friends in a one-page
comic.

Game: Castlevania II:
Simon's Quest
Aside from moving to two-page comics, Howard
& Nester also started to use the settings of
the featured games in the magazine starting with
this issue. Here, Nester (in full Belmont regalia)
leads a couple kids trying to get through the
game's Bodeley Mansion, and wouldn't you know it,
Howard pops in.

Game: Teenage Mutant
Ninja TurtlesNester is
lost on the streets, but a young woman named
April invites him to her apartment and introduces
her four green friends, who happen to need help
getting through their own game.

Game: Super Mario Bros.
3
Howard and Nester are dispatched to eradicate
bugs in Super Mario 3. Immediately they don
raccoon ears and tails and are beamed into the
game as Nester tries valiantly to obtain the
first hidden whistle.

Howard and
Nester (well, mostly Nester) have appeared in the pages
of Nintendo Power other than in their own comic. Here's a
selection of some other escapades they've engaged in.

Volume 26 - Nester's
AdventuresGame: The Hunt for Red
OctoberAfter
Howard left the magazine, Nester began starring
in his own comic. This is the first episode of
many more, where Nester (here a camp counselor)
tells the story of his mission to recover the
submarine Red October.

Sept / Oct '89 - Game Boy These three short comics ran along
the bottom of a Nintendo Power feature about
Nintendo's then-upcoming Game Boy system. In the
first, Nester jeopardizes a crucial game of
Tetris. Next, Nester's mom (!) becomes a slave to
the world of Game Boy, and finally Howard
challenges Nester to a Game Link battle.